My Double
by Solaris10
Summary: Just something I thought up. And posting it means the document won't die so I may or may not finish it. Just expect a lot of chapters. OCxHenry What happens when someone very similar to Henry shows up at Smithson school? Are they going to be a trouble magnite just like Henry? T just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Henry's POV

I was back at school with Jasper and Maggie when Uncle Bryan found us. "Jasper, Maggie, Henry, we have another transfer student. She's only supposed to be here for two months but I want you to make her feel welcome. And try to keep her out of trouble. Lord knows we don't need another Henry around here." He said before walking away.

"What do you think he meant by another Henry?" Maggie asked us. Jasper shrugged.

"I guess we can find out." I said.

"So we know she's a girl and she's new but that can't be all he meant by being another Henry." Jasper said. "Come on we'll talk to Elaine." Jasper said and we followed him to Uncle Bryan's office.

"Henry!" Elaine exclaimed as soon as she saw me. "What can I do for you?"

"We're looking for information on the new student? Maybe a transfer? Dad said we have to show her around." Jasper told her.

"Absolutely! She'll be here in five minutes. Now if you'll excuse me I do have some things to do. Have a good day Henry!" She called before picking up a stack of folders and walking out of the room. I waved and she smiled before walking out the doors.

"What do you think she'll be like?" Jasper asked.

"Maybe her parents are archeologists too." I shrugged not knowing what to expect. Then a girl walked through the door.

"Hi, my name is Riley Winchester. I'm looking for a..." She looked down at the paper in her hand. "Henry Griffin?" She must be the transfer!

"That's me!" I grinned and waved. "This is Japer and Maggie. We're all going to show you around." She looked at me and shrugged.

"So first things first, I know my dad said you weren't staying long but you still have to sign up for a museum internship. The DOUM room is pretty much all that's left and my dad was hoping you could keep Henry company there." Jasper said a bit sheepishly.

"That's fine." She shrugged. She didn't seem excited to be here which I understood.

"So where did you come from?" Maggie suddenly asked her.

"Africa?" Jasper asked excited.

"Antarctica?" Maggie asked Neither of them giving her a chance to answer.

"Australia." Riley answered. One eyebrow arching in surprise and a bit of irritation. I could tell she had clearly spent time outside. Her skin was a golden tan and her t-shirt showed off her arms, muscled but all lean muscle. Her figure was slim but she had that rough don't mess with me look.

"Have you ever been to the states before?" I asked her.

"Every once in awhile." She didn't say anything more than that.

"So I guess we'll show you around so you can get a feel for the place." Maggie said sensing the awkward tension. We lead her out of the office and she just happened to have the same first class as Jasper, Maggie and I did. Class started and there were already whispers about Riley. She was sitting with us for one thing but she was very attractive and she dressed more like she was from here than I did when I first got here.

"You must be Riley Winchester." Julian Morneau said with dislike when he entered the classroom.

"I am." Riley said flatly just watching him like a hawk watches a mouse. Julian didn't say anything, he just nodded and started the lesson. She hadn't said another word by the end of the class and Jasper and I didn't know what to think of her. She was hard to read according to Jasper. I wasn't great at reading people anyway so I figured the fact that I couldn't read her meant nothing. She was in most of my classes so I lead her around most of the day. She didn't say much so I talked for her telling her about all my adventures and she listened in between classes. The only words I heard her say all day were the ones she said when I met her and when she had to introduce herself to the class.

"So how's Riley?" Maggie asked me when she, Jasper and I were in the DOUM rooms after school working on another art project.

"She seems to be fine." I shrugged.

"What do you mean seems to be?" Jasper asked as he painted a plastic tube.

"She's a great listener. She just doesn't talk much." I answered.

"How much did she tell you about herself?" Maggie asked looking up from her tube.

"Nothing beyond what she told us when we met her." I said again. "I get the feeling she's getting a feel for the atmosphere here."

"Yeah." Jasper snorted. "Or she's hiding something."

"Not everyone has something to hide Jasper." Maggie sighed. "Maybe she's just really shy. I mean if her parents are archaeologists then she's probably heard of Henry. Maybe she was intimidated by him."

"Maggie, nobody is intimidated by Henry Griffin when they first meet him." Jasper snorted again gesturing to me.

"I'm a friendly person Jasper! I don't want to intimidate people." I said simply. "I'll apologize to her tomorrow."

"Henry, I don't think That will help." Maggie said cautiously.

"What makes you say that?" I asked Maggie, genuinely curious.

"Well, Riley seems to be the independent type and I don't think telling her you think you intimidate her will go over well." Maggie tried to explain.

"Maggie is probably right." Jasper added looking at me wryly.

"So what do I do?" I asked them. People never were my strong suit. They knew that too after what happened last year with my parents and me possibly leaving for Mongolia.

"You keep talking to her I guess. I mean she stuck with you most of the day didn't she?" Maggie asked me curiously as she put the tube she finished painting down to dry. I shrugged in assent. "She probably feels closer to you than anyone else her at Smithson."

"Besides didn't you say you were telling her about all your adventures?" Jasper asked with a grin.

"I did." I said my brow wrinkling in confusion. I couldn't figure out where he was going with this.

"Maybe she heard something you two have in common. If you just hit enough stories she may speak up." Jasper grinned even bigger.

"Ask her a few yes or no questions too Henry. Nothing too deep but something about her. Don't just make it about you." Maggie added. "Not that you'll have any problems but just try to keep that in mind."

"Alright. Sounds easy enough." I said. Maggie and Jasper looked at each other before breaking down in laughter. We stayed and worked for another hour bantering while still trying to get our project done. Finally Jasper and I went home and then to bed and to sleep.

"Good morning Jasper!" I called when I heard him tripping down the stairs. He wasn't fully awake yet and was still in his pajamas.

"Henry, why are you up so early?" He mumbled giving me a slight glare.

"Breakfast! I still have to be at school to help Riley around." I grinned. "Plus I thought you and Uncle B could use a good breakfast."

"What is it?" He asked staring at the pancakes I made with undisclosed suspicion.

"Blueberry pancakes. I got the recipe from one of cook books around the house." I smiled.

"We have cook books?" Jasper asked sitting down and grabbing the syrup.

"They were in a box in the basement labeled cook books." I told Jasper.

"Huh. Must have missed those." Jasper said taking a bite. I watched him with a smile and his face lit up as he chewed. "Henry, these are good!" Jasper said taking another bite.

"I know! Well I have to be off so I'll see you in school?" I asked him.

"Wait, how are you getting to school anyway?" Jasper asked looking up from his stack of pancakes.

"Uncle B said he'd take me in early." I grinned and rushed out the door to where Uncle Bryan was waiting.

"So how is Riley settling in anyway?" Uncle Bryan asked me as we rode to Smithson. It wasn't a far drive and traffic wasn't too bad but it still took us five minutes to get there.

"She's really quiet. But she seems to be doing fine. Brixton seems to like her as well." I added.

"So Riley's not a trouble magnet?" Uncle Bryan asked me.

"Is that what you meant by we don't need another Henry around?" I asked him and Uncle Bryan reluctantly nodded.

"It always turns out for the better doesn't it?" I asked him with a smile.

"Usually. That doesn't mean you can stick your nose in places it doesn't belong Henry." Uncle Bryan called as I opened the car door and jumped out rushing towards his office to meet up with Riley again before classes started and hopefully help her get used to Smithson. At least that's what the file Elaine gave me told me to do.

"I suppose you're here to show me around again?" I heard Riley's voice sigh from the doorway.

"Don't worry! Jasper and Maggie will be here soon!" I smiled at her. Riley simply shrugged like she didn't care. "I know you're not going to be here long but maybe you should make yourself at home." I said getting the sense she didn't want to be here. Much like I didn't want to be here when I first arrived.

"Home is where the heart lies, Henry." Riley answered me quietly. That's when I realized the expression she was wearing was a schooled blank expression. The same one she wore every second of every day. Cool indifference and vague interest.

"I love my parents and all but I get what you're saying." I grinned hoping I did understand what she was trying to convey. "My home is here with Uncle Bryan, Jasper and Maggie." Riley simply nodded, polite interest coloring her face. "So where does your heart lie?" I asked her after a minute of silence.

"I think it's almost time for class to start." Riley said gesturing to the clock. I frowned we still had five minutes.

"We have plenty of time." I said looking at her with a pout.

"The early bird catches the worm." Riley answered me with still not raising her voice while she used another expression on me. She didn't say anything to me the rest of our walk to class. She nodded and smiled to a few people who waved to her but didn't stop to even look at me when we reached the door and walked into the classroom.

"What are you doing here early Griffin? And where's Mr. Bartlett and Ms. Winnock?" Julian Morneau asked me looking between me and Riley suspiciously.

"I'm Riley's guide until she gets her bearings." I told him.

"If I may advise you Ms. Winchester," Julian said speaking to Riley. "Stay away from that one and his pals. They attract trouble."

"I'll keep that in mind Professor." Riley told him her tone never shifting from a passive softness to a quiet that according to my instincts held danger. Maggie and Jasper walked in with the rest of the class a few minutes later. Maggie sat beside me and Jasper sat on her other side. Class went on without incident again although I did watch as Riley's eyes followed every move Julian made. He in turn shifted his gaze to her every once in a while and just sneered unpleasantly.

"That was weird." Maggie said after class as Riley had sent one last stare at Julian before walking out the door not even waiting for me.

"Which part?" Jasper asked.

"All of it." Maggie said looking puzzled. "She wasn't glaring at him, or even looking at him like he was boring. She was paying perfect attention and I don't think they know each other."

"Maybe we'll find out." I said as I walked after her waving to Maggie as Jasper and I walked to our next class.


	2. Chapter 2

Jasper's POV

Henry had gone through three phases so far. Excited to meet someone new, extremely excited to learn she traveled the world too, and finally back down to excited because she was shy. Or something. I wasn't so sure what was going on but I knew she wasn't shy. Ever since her stand off with Moreau a day a go the whispers about her were flying thick and fast. It was impressive really and Maggie and I could see she was gaining popularity. Riley seemed to be the name on everyone's lips. Including Henry's.

"When's your shift at the DOUM room?" I heard Henry ask her. We sat with her in the corner closest to the door. She didn't say anything but raised an eyebrow at him.

"Henry Griffin!" Our teacher Ms. Pennyworth called. "Detention for talking in class!"

"I'm sorry Ms. Pennyworth I asked him a question. I wasn't sure if we covered the material yet or not." Riley's quiet voice reached our teacher's ears and she looked at the girl. She blinked and then nodded.

"My apologies Henry, thank you for helping Riley. In the future ask your questions after class please." Ms. Pennyworth said to Riley kindly.

"Thank you Ms. Pennyworth I'll keep that in mind." Riley said and fell silent once again. Ms. Pennyworth kept teaching and I had work on focussing instead of watching Riley. She almost took the fall for him. Granted nobody would give a brand new student detention but still, it might have been close. Class creeped by second by second so slowly I thought it was never going to end. When it finally did Riley looked at Henry, her expression never changing, and stood up and left. Henry and I walked after her keeping her in sight while chatting.

"What was that?" I asked him.

"I'm not really sure." Henry said watching her with concentration. "Maybe she really does like us." He shrugged with a big smile on his face.

"Come on Henry! If she liked us she would have waited for us!" I groaned. Maggie met up with us as we made our way to economics.

"What's up guys?" Maggie asked us with a smile.

"Riley got Henry out of a detention." I blurted out. Henry's grin got bigger and Maggie shrugged with her whatever look. We walked into the classroom and Riley was sitting once again in the front closest to the door.

"Hey! Thanks for helping me out." Henry said when he saw her.

"Don't make me do it again." She said looking at him. Her tone wasn't harsh or anything. She wasn't yelling and she wasn't glaring at him. She said it like she was stating cold hard facts and nothing more. Henry looked confused but before he could say anything our teacher Mr. Hobbins walked in.

"Seats ladies and gentlemen. And everyone else." He added which made the class laugh. The rest of class was marked by Henry trying to catch Riley's eye from the other side of the room, the boys around Riley being stonewalled as they tried to flirt with her, Mr. Hobbins giving one of them a detention for talking during class (Riley didn't stop Mr. Hobbins from giving him a detention) and boring economics notes.

"I'm going to go talk to Riley." Henry said to us and turned before turning right back as we were packing up.

"What Henry?" Maggie asked curious when he didn't leave.

"She's gone." He said stunned.

"What do you mean she's gone?" I asked looking over to Riley's seat. "She just left. Maybe she was in a hurry Henry." I told him. While it was strange that she was gone there were other kids who were leaving already.

Henry's POV

"What class does she have next?" Maggie asked me.

"She has lunch with me." I said. "She might be in the DOUM room though." Jasper shrugged and we headed for the DOUM room.

"Did you introduce her to Brixton?" Maggie asked me again.

"Yeah, he was excited to have another helper. Apparently the DOUM room still isn't really popular." I shrugged.

"That's because it's all filing Henry. You just happen to find interesting things every time you go in there. And they usually get us in trouble." Jasper quipped.

"Not anything really serious." I added, because it wasn't like we had ever been arrested. There were times when we might have but when they realized what we were doing we were always let go.

"Henry!" Jasper groaned.

"He is right Henry. It seems like you and that room attract trouble." Maggie said almost sounding sorry.

"It's not my fault." I said defending myself. We were almost there so before they could say anything else I rushed ahead and swiped my card. I opened the door and Brixton was there with Riley as she was filing things.

"You sure you want to do this during your lunch break?" He asked her before noticing I had come in. Maggie and Jasper followed. "Henry!" He greeted me. "What are you doing here?" Riley looked up and met my eyes for a second before returning to her stack of folders.

"We actually came to find Riley." Jasper said. I watched Riley paused while scanning a folder but she didn't turn to face us again.

"Well I have a vase to get back to so she's all yours I guess." Brixton said before climbing down the stairs. It was silent as we stood there watching Riley work.

"Thanks for covering for me with Ms. Pennyworth." I said.

"You're welcome." Came Riley's quiet reply.

"Why'd you do that anyway?" Maggie asked her. Riley looked over her shoulder a questioning look on her face. "Cover for Henry and risk getting in trouble yourself." Riley didn't answer but she turned back to her folders and shrugged.

"Ok, then why didn't you help that kid in Mr. Hobbin's class?" Jasper asked her this time. Riley took stopped in the middle of scanning a folder in the system. A few seconds later she finished the entry and turned to face us. She looked at us all, her blue eyes inspecting us each individually in seconds. She leaned back on the table and crossed her arms before taking a breath to answer us almost patiently.

"Because he was hitting on me with cheap pick up lines. His inquiries had nothing to do with school or me as a person." She looked at us daring us to speak before she continued. "What do you want? You didn't come all the way down here during your lunch period to ask me about my habits during classes."

"We noticed you weren't at lunch and we were checking that you were ok." Maggie answered. Jasper and I nodded along.

"What do you want from me?" Riley then asked after staring at us for another five seconds.

"What?" Jasper said blinking, confused.

"What do you want from me?" Riley asked again.

"We just wanted to make sure you were okay. I know how it is moving here after traveling the world. I didn't like it here so I wondered if you wanted to talk about it with a friend." I said watching her. She nodded and then turned back to there folders and continued to put them into the system.

"Look just because we put up with Henry doesn't mean we wouldn't do it again. I mean we've had our moments where he's made us angry, sometimes more than others, but I know I would do it all over again." Maggie said stepping a bit closer to her.

"Agreed. It's taken some getting used to but I'm sure you'd fit right in with us." Jasper added.

"And you can't find better friends." I told her. The room was silent as she put another folder in before turning back around.

"You didn't answer my question." Riley said simply. She didn't look annoyed or angry. She was just stating facts like they were a separate entity from her.

"We just want your friendship." I said answering her original question. I understood part of where she was coming from. After traveling the world I had forgotten that here people are nice to you because they want something occasionally. And as she'd said she'd visited her more often than I had it only made sense that she was suspicious of us. People around the world don't just come up to you and make friends. Usually something has to happen for people to put themselves out there to be friends.

"You want to be friends with me?" Riley asked a touch of curiosity coloring her voice.

"The more the merrier!" Jasper said looking at her with a smile. Riley's eyes zeroed in on him and watched him. Probably reading him like a book. She watched him until he started to squirm.

"I mean you don't have to hang out with us all the time." Maggie said breaking the silence. Her flicked to Maggie as soon as she spoke and Maggie started fidgeting. Finally she spoke again.

"Fine. You're welcome to eat lunch in here while I work." Riley said glancing at me before turning once again to her files.

"Good thing we brought our lunches with us." Jasper said with a grin. Maggie smiled at him weakly.

"Don't you have to be here later?" I asked Riley. She nodded focussing on the folders but clearly keeping an ear on us. Jasper opened his lunch and spread it out on the table with Maggie following his lead.

"What do you think we're going to get on our art project?" Jasper asked Maggie.

"I'd say a ninety at the least. We followed all the instructions."

"We did color inside the lines. But what about the artsy part of it?" Jasper said.

"We were artsy!" Maggie defended.

"But we didn't color." I said. "We made another sculpture." I was confused. Jasper said we colored inside the lines but we weren't coloring.

"It's a metaphor Henry." Maggie explained. "It means we were following the rules."

"Oh..." I said. I still had trouble with some of the sayings Maggie and Jasper used but I was catching up quickly. I looked over to Riley but she was still working. I was sure she hadn't paused. At this point I wasn't sure if she was ignoring us or just listening to what we were saying.

"Have you ever been to Australia Henry?" Maggie asked me suddenly. She was looking at Riley out of the corner of her eye.

"Once or twice. I mean there's not too many digs there really. But the outback was fun." I grinned.

"And here comes the part about Henry doing something stupid and having yet another near death experience he escaped by doing something risky." Jasper snorted.

"Well I ran into a kangaroo. She thought I was after her baby so she tried to kick me. It was amazing to witness how she stood on her tail to kick me so close."

"That's your deadly story." Jasper said looking at me like I was crazy.

"Kangaroos do have very strong legs." Maggie said not fully buying it.

"It wasn't the kangaroo I had to worry about. The hyenas were after me after the kangaroo kicked me in the shoulder and dislocated it pretty badly. They knew I was hurt and they were after me in almost less than an hour." I said.

"How'd you get away?" Jasper asked, also looking out of the corner of his eyes at Riley.

"I climbed a tree and managed to pull off a branch to swat at them with if they tried to get up. I was there for a few hours before a local tribesman came with a larger group and scared them off. He put my shoulder back in place and took me back to my parents." I told them. I left out the part about hot he taught me a few things about fending off hyenas and observing animals that relied on strength for when they were going to lash out.

"Did you ever get chased by hyenas Riley?" Maggie asked her suddenly.

"Yes." Riley answered still not looking up from her folders.

"Was Australia just the last place you were?" Jasper asked this time looking at me and nodding towards her. His message was clear. Talk to her, get her to open up. They wanted to know more about her and she wasn't very willing to cooperate.

"Yes." She answered again.

"Did you ever visit Mongolia?" I asked her thinking about our trip to Mongolia over the summer. It had been a few weeks since we'd come back and returned to school. We were nearly a month into the school year now and I while I really liked it there I was glad we were back.

"Yes." She said finally looking up at me.

"Is that all you're going to say?" I asked her again. She thought about it for a second her eyes flitting to Jasper and Maggie's expectant faces.

"Are you going to continue to ask me questions?" Riley asked me seconds later after she'd observed all of us again.

"You bet." I told her. Maggie and Jasper stayed quiet as she had given me more than a one word answer.

"Depends on the question." Riley decided looking at us all evenly. "You didn't ask me elaborate on my answers." She shrugged turning to us. "But as I can tell you won't stop until you get bored I may as well play along." Silence ensued as Maggie and Jasper stared at her in shock. I smiled. I had hoped it would be this simple. "Are you going to keep asking or do I have to sit here staring at you until the bell rings?"


	3. Chapter 3

Maggie's POV

"Do you want to go back to Australia?" I asked her as soon as she said it.

"Yes." Riley answered me not even thinking about her answers like she had been. "I'd rather be anywhere else." She disclosed for the first time adding something to her answer. I was good at reading people so I saw she was looking at Henry when she told us that.

"I promise this place grows on you. Think about it like any other place in the world." Henry said looking at her sympathetically. She just stared at me blankly.

"What's your favorite color?" Maggie asked her. Riley took a second and thought about it.

"Blue." She said.

"Okay you're not getting this. You're supposed to share more about yourself." Jasper sighed.

"And what about you? I know nothing about you three and yet you want to know about me." Riley said looking at us. Then she looked at Henry disappointed. "I thought that you, at least, would know better." Henry frowned and rubbed the back of his head.

"My favorite color is orange." He said and looked at Jasper.

"I like blue too." Jasper said.

"Red." Maggie said. Riley nodded in appreciation. I watched Henry's face light up.

"What's your favorite place you've lived?" He asked her.

"I liked something about everywhere I've been." Riley said thinking. "And you?"

"Bhutan I think." Henry answered.

"I've only ever lived here in DC." I said shrugging. Riley nodded understanding.

"Same as her, though having Henry move in has been interesting." Jasper added. "How'd you end up here anyway?"

"I came by plane." Riley said completely serious.

"No, I mean like what do your parents do?" Jasper clarified. I saw the corners of her mouth turn up a bit as Jasper corrected himself with a rush of embarrassment. She knew exactly what she meant! Little sneak! So she did have a sense of humor!

"Mom is an archaeologist and dad is an anthropologist. Of course they've written books and stuff but they're in DC for the month because of an exhibit they needed to see and do some work with." Riley said with s shrug.

"So you usually travel with them?" I asked her.

"I used to. But then I decided to begin traveling on my own. So I travel with them but I don't go to the digs with them. anymore."

Henry's POV

"Why'd you come here?" Jasper asked her.

"Jasper!" I hissed to him. I didn't want her wandering off when she realized she didn't have to be here.

"My parents thought it would be a good idea if I at least tried the American education system while I was here." Riley said looking back at her files wistfully.

"I was shipped here when i got mauled by a yack." I said. Riley looked up at me for a second.

"Bhutan?" She asked. I nodded. "The yacks there are a bit more aggressive."

"Wait seriously?" Jasper asked. I nodded.

"Yes." Riley answered. She sounded serious but Maggie was smiling so I wasn't sure what Maggie was smiling about. Riley's expression didn't change but she turned to the door that lead to the warehouse where all the objects were kept in boxes. "Do you smell that?" She asked us.

"Henry?" Jasper asked me. I sniffed but I couldn't smell anything.

"Go! We need to go now!" Riley said suddenly moving towards the door that lead back to the museum.

"What's going on?" Jasper asked as Riley opened the door quickly and was trying to usher us out.

"Cyanide. I smell cyanide." Riley was motioning to the door and I was pushing Maggie and Jasper out as fast as the would go. Not that they weren't trying to move. Riley closed the door and entered a code on the entrance pad. Red flashing lights started and alarms started blaring.

"Why did you ask if we could smell anything?" Maggie asked Riley who was starting to cough.

"Because I wasn't sure what I was smelling." She coughed. Maggie was wheezing but Jasper and I weren't coughing as bad as Riley was. "Braxton!" She suddenly yelled. She typed in another code and shoved us away from the door, opening it and closing it behind her.

"She's going to die before the bio team gets here." Maggie said worried.

"What's the override code she used?" I asked them. Maggie and Jasper looked at me.

"I don't know. I don't even know them so I'm not sure how she knew them." Jasper said letting out a little cough.

"Cyanide isn't deadly in small amounts but if she breaths in too much of it then she's a goner." Maggie said looking to the door she had gone into. Seconds later the men in the big yellow suits were running towards us.

"Where's the bio hazard!" The one yelled.

"Riley and Braxton are in there! Riley smelled cyanide in there!" I told them. They rushed forward and punched in the access code but one of them was blocking my view of the panel.

"Get out of there m'am! Come on boys get her out and shut the door! We've got to contain this." The bio suited man said. Another yellow man came out supporting Riley who had an unconscious Braxton in a marine hold on her back. She was coughing heavily now but Braxton had a handkerchief tied around his mouth. Riley collapsed when one of the men rushed to her and relieved her of Braxton's weight.

"Riley!" I called and ran for her, Jasper and Maggie not far behind me.

"Kid you can't get near her. She's coughing up cyanide. She's dangerous and we're going to contain her. You can speak to her later but for now I have to ask you to leave. We're clearing this wing. If you could go to my colleague over there who will assess how much cyanide you inhaled." A man in yellow was telling us.

"Come on Henry." Jasper said dragging my arm towards where there were already plastic tents being set up. There was a separate more contained tent down the stairs where Riley was being dragged off to still coughing violently. The three of us sat there while they took our blood work and then told us we should be fine but if we felt anything to go see a doctor immediately.

"Uncle B, how's Riley?" I asked as soon as I saw him standing outside the tent.

"That's who rescued Braxton?" He asked me.

"Yeah, she opened the door and went back for him." Maggie said clearly impressed.

"Came out holding him over her shoulder like a marine." Jasper added.

"They won't give me any information except that Braxton is fine. He could use a few days off but he was knocked unconscious so between that and the handkerchief she put around his mouth he wasn't exposed long." Uncle Bryan said.

"But what about her parents?" Jasper asked.

"I didn't even know who to contact because I had no idea who it was. Why don't you three come with me and we can try to reach her parents." Uncle Bryan said dragging us along with him to his office. He pulled up the files on students and searched her name before dialing her parent's number. It rang and rang but nobody picked up.

"You have reached the Winchesters. Please leave your name and number and we will call you back as soon as we can!" The dial tone said and then it beeped signaling the time to leave a message.

"I'm Bryan Bartlett from Riley's school and I'm sorry to tell you that your daughter is in the hospital with cyanide poisoning. She's not in trouble, in fact she was quite brave but I'm sure she'd like you to come visit her." Uncle Bryan gave them the number they could reach him at and then hung up. He called the people she was staying with and also reached their answering machine. Uncle Bryan pulled at his face with his hand in a gesture I understood as frustration.

"I'm sure whoever is next on her list will answer Uncle B." I told him with a smile.

"There is nobody else. Those were the only two emergency numbers we were given." Uncle Bryan sighed.

"What are we going to do?" Maggie asked quietly.

"I guess we'll keep her company until we can get someone from her family over here." Uncle Bryan said sadly.

"Then let's go find her." I said opening the door of the office and walking back towards the DOUM room to find any one of the men in yellow and hope they could point me in the direction Riley was being kept. Uncle Bryan, Jasper and Maggie all followed me out and to the tent that they had set up for the exposed people as they contained the dangerous gas.

"I'm going to go check on Braxton." Uncle Bryan said.

"We'll make sure Riley's ok." Jasper assured his dad as I walked towards the tent that didn't have Braxton standing at the window.

"Do you think she's okay?" Maggie asked me as we walked closer.

"I don't know." I told her honestly.

"I'm sure they're treating her. She'll be fine." Jasper assured us. We walked closer but she wasn't at the window. "Can we talk to Riley?" Jasper asked one of the men who was standing there.

"You mean the girl in there?" He asked us.

"Riley Winchester. Yes. The girl who risked her life to save the guy over in that other tent." I said pointing to where Braxton stood.

"Alright. Look, she took in a lot of cyanide. She's not doing so well." He explained.

"What about Braxton?" Maggie asked shutting me up with a hand on my shoulder.

"He didn't take in any dangerous amount. There's nothing to worry about with him." He said with a smile.

"Can we talk to her?" Jasper asked again.

"Well it's possible but I'm not sure she'll be responsive. She hasn't answered any of our questions so far. We're not sure she understands what's going on." He answered us sadly.

"Just let us see her." I said. He nodded and lead us into the tent.

"Here, put these on." The man gave us surgical masks. I put it on and adjusted it as Maggie and Jasper did and we walked past the flaps and into a room with several medical people buzzing around. Riley sat in the middle of all the buzz. She had a clear covering over her mouth that had a tube that lead to a green tank.

"She's on oxygen Henry. It's okay." Maggie said to me.

"We're doing all we can but she might be more responsive if there's someone she knows. Is her family coming?" The man in yellow asked.

"We couldn't reach them." Jasper told him.

"Is anyone she is more familiar with coming?" He asked sounding desperate.

"No. We couldn't reach any of her contacts." Maggie said sadly.

"Alright. Does anyone here have a close relationship with her?" The man asked us sounding desperate. I looked at Maggie and Jasper who were looking at each other doubtfully.

"Henry." Maggie said looking at me.

"Alright kid, we need you. She needs you. Just talk to her. Tell her who you are and just tell her about what's happening." The man in yellow said eagerly, like I had a choice. I doubted at all that she was going to even talk to me or listen but I had hopes that she would respond because she knew me. I walked over and she way lying there covered in tubes and wires. It wasn't natural and it made me sick looking at her but I moved forward anyway. All the other me and women in white were backing away and getting really quiet.

"Speak to her kid." One of the men in white whispered. So I did.

"Riley, it's me, Henry. You got Braxton out and he's ok. In fact he's in much better shape than you are right now. We couldn't reach your parents, but Uncle Bryan is still trying. Yeah, th principle is my uncle. He and Jasper took me in after I was hurt pretty bad in Bhutan and my parents sent me home. But you're not doing well so you need to wake up. Please! Can she hear me?" I asked the man behind me.

"We don't know for sure but it never hurt to have someone she knows and trusts talking to her. Keep going Henry, you're doing fine." The man encouraged me.

"So I know you barely know me but we checked around the school and you don't talk to people much. In fact, you've told me more than anyone else. Most people only know your name. And you're cool for telling off Pennyworth to save me from a detention but you barely even talk to the cool kids." I paused and looked at her. she was still but the doctors were watching her expectantly. Like something was about to happen.

"Keep talking Henry." The man in white said excitedly.

"So I guess you're wondering what's going on. I'm not entirely sure what's happening to you but the doctors are taking good care of you and-" I was cut off and shoved aside as the people in white were at her again and they were loud. In the midst of all that I heard her say one word.

"Henry..." And then her quiet voice was once again cut off by the panic and chaos surrounding her.


	4. Chapter 4

Jasper's POV

"Henry..." I heard her say before the doctors were all on her again. Poor Henry looked like he was debating if he should go to her or pass out. He was as pale as a ghost for some reason and he was rooted to the spot he'd been shoved to.

"Henry." I said pulling him away from the mass of white lab coats.

"She said my name." He managed to say. Dad came in moments later, a surgical mask on his face as well.

"What's happening?" He asked us looking mostly at Maggie and me.

"Henry talked to her and she woke up and now you see what's going on." I told him. Dad looked at the mass of moving white coats and sighed.

"I just hope she's okay." He sighed as he watched the lab coats continued to swarm her form.

"We all do." Maggie said putting a hand on my shoulder. We were there for a good quarter of an hour before the activity around her finally calmed down and she was out. One of the men in white coats came to talk to us.

"Which one of you is Henry?" He asked. Henry looked up and answered him relatively calmly.

"I'm Henry."

"She's asking for you again. She's asleep now but stable enough to be transferred to a hospital. You're more than welcome to ride with her in the ambulance." He said before going back to where all the, people in white-probably doctors, were.

"You should go with her Henry." My father told Henry, putting a hand on his shoulder. Henry didn't need a second nudge before jogging off to the ambulance and hopping in the back. We could only watch him as they closed the doors and the vehicle pulled away. We stood there for almost a minute in total silence before my dad let out a tired sigh.

"Do you think they're going to be ok?" Maggie asked my dad. He rubbed a hand across his face and sighed before answering her.

"I don't know."

"She'll make it." I assured Maggie as I put my hand on her shoulder.

Henry's POV

The ride to the hospital was rather quiet. She was stable, just weak. They said it was up to her now, to pull through and get better but also that the odds were good that she was going to make it. I just hoped they were right. She wasn't supposed to get hurt doing all that heroic stuff. I wasn't even sure how she smelled the cyanide. I couldn't smell it.

"You've got to talk to her kid." One of the medics said to me.

"Why didn't I smell it?" I asked him.

"Some people have the gene for smelling cyanide and others just can't." He shrugged before motioning to Riley again.

"So we're on our way to the hospital and I don't really know what's happening but the doctors are saying that it's up to you to pull out of this and we all want you back Riley. Braxton would never forgive himself if you didn't make it because you were saving him. And Uncle B wants probably wants to give you a medal or something for saving the school. I mean I didn't get the feeling you were big on ceremonies but this has probably already spread to the news so it won't be able to be helped unless you somehow manage to seriously duck out of it." I was watching her and her eyes were twitching under her lids. "Is she awake?" He finally asked pointing to the movement under her lids.

"That's called REM, restless eye movement, it usually happens when you're dreaming and coma patients experience it occasionally but it is a good sign kid. It means she's not brain dead." The doctor told me again while keeping a close eye on her vitals. When I didn't say anything else he looked back over. "Look, I'm not saying it'll help at all but you're the one who got her to respond right?"

"I think so." I said shrugging.

"Then the hope here is that you'll be able to again. She should be awake right now. The fact that she isn't, while it's not too much of a concern yet, it isn't a good thing. We'd all feel a little bit better if you could get her to open them baby blues." He said.

"Baby blues?" I asked him.

"Umm yeah." He said not quite following what I was asking.

"I'm not from around here originally. I'm still working on catching up on the slang." I explained sheepishly rubbing the back of my head. The doctor let out a lighthearted chuckle before explaining himself.

"I was talking about her eyes."

"Oh." I said. The last few minutes of the way there I told her stories of my adventures in different places and about the one or two trips back to the states that I'd had.

"Just follow us to her room." The doctor said as they got her out of the ambulance on the white rolling bed. We walked down the hallway and they rolled her into a room before getting four guys in white to pick her up and put her on another bed without wheels. There was a flurry of other activities but after ten minutes things settled down and it was just Riley, the doctor and me in the room. "Until her family gets here you're more than welcome to stay here seeing as you seem to care about her. What's your name kid?" The man from the ambulance asked me.

"Henry Griffin." I told him. "My cousin's dad is the principal of the school we all go to. His name is Bryan Bartlett and he should be here too."

"Don't worry kid, I'll get them. They're probably already halfway here." He smiled at me before closing the door. I turned back to Riley who was still lying in her bed. Her fingers twitched and her eyes were doing that restless eye thing but nothing else changed. She was still hooked up to a bunch of wires and I assumed those went to the machines that were monitoring things for her health.

"Are you going to wake up anytime soon Riley?" I asked her as I pulled up a chair and sat down next to her bed. I sighed and started talking about my adventures. If she was supposed to hear my voice then that was what I was going to do. I was in the middle of my story about escaping from a tomb that was trying to crush me when it happened.

"Sounds like fun Henry." Her voice stopped me. It was raspy but when I looked up to the bed her blue eyes were looking right at me, her head tilted so she could see me. I knew I probably looked like a fish with my mouth open and my eyes wide but I didn't care because she was awake.

"Riley!" I grinned and stood up grabbing her hand. "They said it was up to you to wake up and that if I kept talking to you it was supposed to make you better faster and I couldn't think of anything to say so I just started telling you stories and then the guy in the ambulance was calling your eyes baby blues and I didn't know what to say and I just don't know what to do but they let me in and I told them to call Uncle Bryan who is the principal of the school because he's the closest thing you've got to a relative and we tried to reach your family-"

"Woah, slow down Henry." She laughed a little coughing and making the heart monitor beep which caused a nurse and a doctor to enter the room.

"Ah, Ms. Winchester you're awake!" This guys was not the person that I was talking to on the ambulance but Riley wasn't alarmed so I just sat down and made sure I wasn't in the way. "Why don't we get you all checked and then we should be able to release you by tomorrow." He said as the nurse came over. They did things and I wasn't sure about all of them but then Uncle B came in with Jasper and Maggie in tow and it all stopped. "Who are you?"

"I'm Bryan Bartlett and I'm the principal of the school this girl goes to and currently the closest thing to a relative we can find." He explained.

"Very well. Ms. Winchester is recovering well however we'd like to keep her overnight for observation and hopefully tomorrow she can go home as long as she has someone to take care of her." He said looking at us.

"Thank you." Uncle B said.

"Not a problem." The doctor said and left. Maggie and Jasper were over to me in seconds. Uncle B was a little slower heading to Riley's bedside where she had pulled on the mask that hid every emotion she may have ever had. That had been put back on as soon as the doctor had entered the room though I just happened to only notice it when she stared at my Uncle with polite interest once again despite knowing him.

"How you doing Henry?" Maggie asked me.

"I'm fine thanks guys." With my assurance we all turned to Riley.

"You have caused quite the fuss. Though I should be thanking you for saving my son and Henry and Maggie. And Braxton." Uncle Bryan said to her with a sideways smile adding the man as an afterthought though she'd done more to save him than she'd done for any of the three of us.

"Mr. Bartlett, there's nothing to thank. I was in the right place at the right time." Riley answered him politely.

"Riley, you didn't have to go back for Braxton. We'll be launching a full investigation into the matter but in the mean time where are you staying?" He asked her.

"I was under the impression I was staying here for the night." She said. Maggie and Jasper giggled and even Uncle B chuckled but he looked at her with a more serious expression.

"And tomorrow night? Who will they be releasing you to?" He asked her. Riley shrugged.

"What about who you're living with?" Maggie asked her. Riley cocked her head to the side sending Maggie a questioning gaze.

"You are living with someone right?" Jasper finally asked her.

"I was occupying a house by myself. My parents are staying at a hotel closer to the exhibit currently." She answered almost stiffly. Uncle B just looked at her.

"The fact that she got away with that is both terrifying and impressive." Maggie said offhandedly.

"Can't she just stay with us Uncle B?" I asked. Jasper spluttered for a second. Uncle Bryan looked at me with his mouth gaping but it wasn't either one of them who answered me.

"I don't think that would be wise Henry." Tyler's voice was still raspy and almost nonexistent but we all heard her.

"I'd have to talk to my parents but I could probably take her in for a few days at least." Maggie volunteered. Riley gave her a polite smile.

"I'm not sure you understand. I would prefer to go back to my house. My myself." She said slowly.

"Tell you what. We'll give you the night to think it over and Jasper, Henry and I will come back tomorrow and if you want to stay with Maggie or us three boys you can, or I can drive you to where your parents are working." Uncle B stopped her protests with a hand. "I'll see you tomorrow Riley."


End file.
